Chapter 5 – Celestial Disorder
It's now Sunday, the 16th.
The next day after the shopping trip, I remembered about the stroopwafles. Fortunately, they were as good as the fresh ones yesterday after I heated them up. All the girls liked it without exception. Well, okay, there wasn't one person that didn't want it, no matter how I pled and threatened her, and it was Mio. Well, fuck her. After I was in private, I just opened a rift and threw the stroopwafle in. A bit surprisingly, I got a whole skewer of takoyaki balls in return. This one Mio accepted, although only under the condition I took one of the balls and ate it myself, which I gladly did, since I haven't had Fuso food since July.
Other than that, Adi has integrated perfectly with the old 501st, and it was all shits and giggles around her. Even Trude, who is usually reserved to her superiors, was taking laughs with her. However, there was the problem of Heidi and Shizuka.
Heidi was slow, but she was progressing nonetheless. She even started conversations at times, which was almost miraculous to how she was reserved towards me at first. Maybe I had some influence on her after all. But Eila was still a bit weird towards her…
Shizuka on the other hand… Ehhh… She wasn't doing anything bad, a model soldier, or a True Soldier of Fuso, to paraphrase Trude, heheheh… But she still was a bit reluctant towards me and Yoshika… What the hell, I don't even…
Toshiro opened his eyes, welcoming the usual darkness of the room without a window.
"Time, Yukilein?"
"It's six dead, Bub."
"Why thank you…"
He felt the pleasant warmth of Yoshika's naked body at his side, and he amped his vision a bit with the Hebigan to see her face.
"She's really one of the cutest persons I ever saw…"
"Hey, what about me then?"
"You're talking to me or asking about directions?"
"Heheheh…"
I can't just leave Yoshika like that right now… Oh, I'll write her a note! But all my stationery is in the office… Woah, mad idea!
Toshiro put his hand forward so he could see it, and he focused his better power. With a brief flash, a bare pencil lead appeared out of thin air.
"That's not what I wanted… Uuuugh, shit, I don't remember which kind of wood is used to encase pencil leads… As a matter of fact, I don't even fucking know the composition of wood!"
"Master, you have to focus harder."
"For fucks sake! Livy, knock before you enter!"
"Pardon for the intrusion, Master, but I want to help you. Your mastery of the Celestial Order has been reduced by ninety-five percent, so it's only natural you'll be struggling."
"Well then… Wait, so I still have five percent mastery?"
"Yes, Master. You could call it muscle memory. The full mastery of your Elder God lent powers have left a mark on your body, and that's those five percent. By comparison, the otherworldly Mistress is estimated at twenty percent right now."
"Twenty percent? But she said she was training a year!"
"But not every day, mind you, Master."
"I wonder if I could…"
"No, no, Master, you can't."
"Ugh…"
"I know you're not very content with the fact I'm reading your mind ahead, Master, but this is very much necessary. You wanted to see whether you can teleport. Yes, you can, but at the same time you can't. You can't just imagine teleporting from point A to B, it's not a power you can just call forth out of nowhere without proper training. The otherworldly Mistress took some time to learn it, but once you learn it, it will become something natural."
"Like riding a bike?"
"Exactly, Master. I must warn you first that you will have a harder time learning to teleport than the otherworldly Mistress, due to the difference in your power."
"Why so?"
"She possesses True Zen, which is another name for Omnipotence. Granted, what she possesses is a mortal equivalent, but it remains true that through True Zen, she possesses every type of magic in existence. She uses her True Zen to use Space Magic and thus teleport. Your Celestial Order is not so simple. You must create Space Magic, so to speak, to achieve the same results. Whereas she can simply use her True Zen in place of Space Magic, you must use your Celestial Order to actually learn it. Learning it will be the hard part."
"I feel like I got shafted."
"Not at all, Master. You possess the power of an Elder God, and through that power you can learn any magic."
"So the True Zen users can simply master their power and automatically use everything, and the rest of us that have an ability from an Elder God have to master our power and learn everything. If we can all use the same power in the end, what's the difference?"
"Users of True Zen use everything simultaneously. That is what True Zen is. You know how it is rainbow colored, right? The color of True Zen corresponds to every color whereas the power of True Zen corresponds to the every power, even if that is an oversimplification."
"I see. So getting back to me teleporting..."
"Right. You have to learn it. If you tried forcibly teleporting yourself, it could end very unpleasantly, thus I implore you not to do it, unless you're training in a controlled environment under my supervision. But don't worry, Master, you're a very apt learner, heehee…"
"Well, thank you, Livy. I guess you saved my ass. But now, back to conjuring a sheet of paper and a pencil."
"Yes, of course. The entirety of the pencil and the sheet of paper must appear in your mind, and then you have to channel your powers so that thought can take appearance."
"It's fucking harder than before… I mean I basically could make ANYTHING appear."
"That's true, Master, because at full mastery, your power is in sync with your whole body, making anything you want to appear spawn almost subconsciously, and something you want to invent takes only little effort to get created."
"So how I can make a whole pencil to appear?"
"The most ground-up way would be to build the pencil from the materials it's built of. I'll give you a little help, Master."
Toshiro felt something in his left hand, and he saw that he held a piece of paper and a pencil.
"You basically did it for me, Livylein…"
"No no, Master. You have access to a very nice ability right now."
"Which is?"
"Matter Analysis. Whatever you touch, and later when you regain your Celestial Eye, what you see, can be analyzed right down to the sub-atomic particle layout."
"Nifty… So? How do I do it?"
"Focus your power on receiving data, Master."
"Well then…"
Toshiro concentrated himself, and then, as if a mental switch flipped in his mind and a stream of data flew into his mind.
"Woah, girl, I know the structure of both the pencil and the paper sheet!"
"Very good, Master. Now, a little bonus round."
Livy appeared above him, hovering about twenty centimeters above his body.
"Now try to read me, Master," she whispered.
"You're an Elder God…"
"Just do it," she smiled roguishly.
Toshiro grabbed her hand, and he felt a gigantic pulse of energy, deep as the cosmos itself.
"Holy shit… That's the extent of your power?"
"Yes, Master. Now, touch the Mistress."
"Oh you bet I'll touch her, hehehe…"
"My dear Master… Always in pursuit of carnal pleasure…"
Toshiro placed only one finger on Yoshika's shoulder, and he focused. Almost immediately, he could feel her heartbeat, feel her blood flowing, the neurons in her whole body carrying electric currents.
"That was incredible… Mind blowing, Livy… But I also felt a familiar energy…"
"Remember, Master, that the Mistress has a miniscule amount of Celestial Order energy in her after you unintentionally saved her."
"Ah, that's the case… Well, thank you for the heads up, Livy. It was very entertaining."
"I'm always there to serve you, Master."
Once Livy disappeared, Toshiro concentrated himself again, and he spawned a wooden housing for the pencil lead, complete with a brass sleeve and a rubber on top of it. He colored the wood black, and gave it a red trim. The piece of paper he made was pink and had a black grid on it.
Well, it worked… Let's see… Ah, wait, fuck the pencil!
Toshiro focused again, and letters started appearing directly on the piece of paper. Once the message was ready, he folded it, and using his time dilution, he placed it where he slept, and rushed out of the room fully clad.
Ah, I might as well…
He read his uniform within a few seconds, and nodded to himself.
The fibers, brass, silver, gold, iron… Wait a minute…
With a devilish smirk, he put his hand forward, and a gold bar appeared in his hands, weighing it down considerably.
"Holy shit…"
"Master, that's cheating, and you know it…"
"Oh shush, Livy… I have a new toy."
"Then we might as well cover disintegration of matter."
"Isn't that like… what Celestial Chaos does?"
"No no, matter. The Celestial Destruction also comes out of the concept of Order. It's an orderly way to decompose matter, both living and dead.You know the atomic structure of gold now, Master. Now, just imagine the forces combining the atoms disappearing."
"So basically… zerleging it? Heheh…"
"I see you caught up on the analogy very well, Master. Do it, please."
Quickly focusing on his task, the gold bar in his hand crumbled into worthless dust just like that.
"Well then… It wasn't so flashy as that whole Doran hubbub…"
"Remember that Celestial Order is a multi-tool-like power. If you progress in your mastery and base power level, you might as well do the same and more, Master. Not only matter manipulation, but also time, space, causality… But it takes a bit of ingenuity to do that on the mortal level. Remember that I told you that you can use Celestial Order to learn anything?"
"Genius – here."
"Heehee… I won't bother you further right now, Master. Have a nice jog."
Godly powers on a mortal level… So does that make me a demi-god? I'll have to think about that, really.
Toshiro swiftly ran down to the ground floor and then outside through the front door. The brisk morning stung his face, but he enjoyed the feeling.
"Oi, Toshiro!" Mio's voice rang across. "Join in!"
He looked around, and saw Mio running along the runway, with Adolfine on her side.
Well look at that, training buddies already? They really have a few strings attached to each other…
"So, my dear senior-in-age friends are running together in the evening? How cute," Toshiro said once he caught up to them.
"Eh, I would smack you, but I want to conserve my energy on something more productive…" Adolfine sighed.
"Good morning anyway," Toshiro snickered.
"What made you get out of your warm bed, with an equally warm lover by your side?" Mio asked.
"I woke up, that's it." He shrugged. "I won't ponder upon the philosophical from the morning up, so I might as well do some running."
"Well, I wouldn't get out of bed with you around." Adolfine giggled.
"Where did that Adolfine I looked up to go…?" Mio sighed.
Fucked silly by yours truly.
An hour later, Toshiro returned before the door of his room. He opened the door as silently as he could, but once he did it, he already saw two glints in the darkness.
"Toshirooo… A note isn't enough if you want to leave me, you know…"
"And how would you know, Sweetie?" he asked.
"Kuji," he felt as she grinned in the scarcely lit room.
"I guess I should repent for my sin then?"
"Verily, thou shalt do so." Yoshika tried to be serious but started snickering.
She was silenced by Toshiro in the best way possible, not resisting for a moment.
"Now, that's what I call a wake up," she said warmly as they finished. "Well, we could… You know…"
"Nah, Yoshika, I'm sweaty right now. I came back for my bath supplies."
"Oh you sneak…" Yoshika muttered. "Alone or with some entourage?"
"Mio and Adi."
"Second worst combo…" Yoshika muttered disappointed.
"What would be the first?"
"Adi and Shirley." Yoshika stuck out her tongue.
"Ah, come on, we were decent, and we'll be decent. Trust me." He patted her head.
"Of course I trust you…" She muttered. "Okay, I'll be slowly going towards the kitchen, and you can have fun with part of your harem."
"Mein Gott, Yoshika, you sure got rough on the edges…" he said and pinned her down to the bed. "Why don't I polish you out a bit?"
"Heeheehee… You told me yourself that you're sweaty, you don't need to sully our bed sheets."
"I like your new way of being, Yoshika."
"And I still like you as always." She planted a brief kiss on his cheek. "Go already, or the two will pop a lid."
"It's not like they want me to wash their back or something, right?"
"Hey, Toshiro, wash my back, could you?" Adolfine asked as soon as he entered the showers.
"Oi, I wanted a back wash first!" Mio yelled.
"What am I, the fucking Holy Spirit to know such things? Get in line, Little Mio…" Adolfine said with a venomous smile.
"Oh you high-and-mighty shit!" Mio pounced at Adolfine, and they began tumbling on the ground, spewing more or less profane words at each other.
Ugh… I'll just ignore them and shower myself.
Toshiro watched the two duke it out, and after a minute or two, Mio finally asked, "Truce?"
"Truce…" Adolfine sighed. "Oh shit, I'm too old for this…"
"Get real; you're fitter than I'll ever be!"
"Why thank you, Mio." Adolfine giggled and moved her right hand under Mio's left buttock. "So, maybe I could use this body of mine to apologize, hmm?"
"Get a room…" Toshiro sighed. "Not that I'm against it or anything… But seriously, you're both wide exposed…"
The two immediately backed out against the wall, covering their womanly parts.
"Ah, so you do have some humility left in you?"
"Can it, wise guy," Adolfine rebuked. "You're at fault."
"Me?"
"Yeah, for simply existing," Mio said.
"Sheesh…" He shook his head. "So, about that back wash?"
"Both of us at once, or we do it on our own," Adolfine said firmly.
"I would rephrase that…" Mio muttered.
"Let's just fucking end this…"
As Toshiro was walking up the stairs to store his bath supplies in the room, something struck him.
"Livy?"
"Yes, Master? Do you perhaps have an inquiry?"
"Of course I do, Sweetie. Two questions – do items made by my powers disappear, and what's my capacity for reading items?"
"For the first question, the answer is simply never. You may be limited by a mortal body, Master, but the power is of Elder God origin after all. So if you make a steel girder, assuming it will be some industry standard one, it will behave like every steel girder and eventually rust away, but it won't just poof away. As for the second one, for you to reach your peak capacity, you'd have to scan the whole planet, no less."
"Wheeeeeew… But let me get this straight – once I start learning the basics and more advanced ways to use my power, scanning stuff will become irrelevant?"
"Yes and no, Master. Of course your own imagination and intellect will limit you on what you can create, but still, acquiring data the direct way will still be beneficial."
"And my mortality, don't forget that, Livy. I tried creating antimatter with full mastery, and nope."
"Antimatter is a tricky subject, Master. If I ever train you so far, I'll be sure to teach you how to make it. But remember, it's VERY dangerous."
"I'm sort of aware of that… Well, thanks again, Livy."
"Have fun, Master."
I will.
He scanned his bath supplies and dissolved them into dust, throwing it away into a corner on the stairwell.
I have to think of a way to dispose of that dust… Hmm…
"Not yet, Master."
"Ugh…"
"Sorry… I'll just add that at a higher level of mastery, you'll be able to reuse the dust to create something new."
"Intriguing… How about a no-dust solution?"
"That's something to be taught separately, Master."
"Kay, I understand. Now shoo."
"Of course, Master."
Elementary dust reusable… Well, that's kind of nice to know. To the dining hall then.
"You guys again?" Toshiro said as he saw Adolfine and Mio sitting at one of the tables over a cup of coffee. "You became an item?"
"Toshiro, stop being so lewd before breakfast," Yoshika said from the kitchen.
"Can I be lewd after breakfast then?"
"Of course you can." The partially white-haired Fusojin giggled.
"I'm really uncomfortable here…" Lynne mumbled.
"Oh, good morning, Lynnie. Sorry you have to listen to our low-effort humor."
"It's actually kind of funny, but still, a bit too sexual for my likings…"
"We'll tone down a bit, okay?" Adolfine asked.
"I would appreciate it." Lynne smiled.
"What do you say, Toshiro?"
"Eh, whatever. I'm the good guy here, right? I can't deprave the minds of the fair maidens more than showing off my junk at bath time, can I?"
"Actually, that is questionable per military law, which you should know by heart, but I guess you're the soul exception, as the only wizard in active military service." Adolfine shrugged.
"Bah, uhm speshul." Toshiro said with a mumbly voice, making Lynne and Yoshika snicker unintentionally.
Adolfine looked like she wanted to burn Toshiro only using her eyes, but she looked at Mio, who was trying not to laugh out loud, and only sighed.
"Morning, everyone," Trude said as she appeared. "Morning, cousins."
"Yo, Trudy." Toshiro raised his hand.
"Good morning." Minna walked just behind her. "My, you all look so happy. What happened?"
"One joke after another, nothing much, really," Yoshika explained.
"Ah, how nice. When will breakfast be ready?"
"Five minutes, Miss Minna," Lynne replied.
"Where's my dear ersatz sister?" Toshiro asked Trude.
"I'll give you one guess…"
""Thirty more minutes…" is my guess." He giggled.
"Not that far off…" Trude sighed. "Maybe you can wake her up?"
"Meh, whatever." he stood up from his chair. "I'll be right back."
Slicing time one hundredfold, he quickly found himself before the door to Erica's and Trude's room. He opened the door, and saw Erica sleeping on the top bunk of the bed, half-naked and with her head buried under a pillow.
"Well then…"
"Seriously, you always seem to barge into rooms when some girls are topless…"
Toshiro approached the sleeping Karlslander, and he started tickling her stomach. She stiffened up, and asked, "Uh, who is this exactly? Because I can bet my pay that it's not Trudy…"
"It's me, your ersatz bro. And FYI, you're topless."
"Woah shit!" she tumbled around her lateral axis, covering herself with her bed sheets. "Bro, you're a perv!"
"Trudy asked me to wake you up, and it's your fault for sleeping half naked."
"I bet you're used to it, huh?"
"Yoshika is sleeping full naked, heheh… I'm only in my undies, as to prevent… accidents…" He snickered.
"Ugh, you have it nice… I'm still a damn virgin…" Erica puffed her cheeks. "Say, bro…"
"No."
"Snap… Well, I guess the whole ersatz sibling shit is too serious for you, right?"
"Yup. I would never bang my sister."
Or my cousin. Well, maybe some thrice removed, but not the direct ones…
"Then I'll wait for somebody worthy of me, heheh… Uh, turn around; I want to dress myself…"
"What, you're shy of me, Erica?"
"Hey, bath time is bath time… I'm a bit uncomfortable right now…"
"Okay then…" He turned around.
"You know bro, I'm thinking about when to reveal to Trudy I'm not the idiot she thinks I am," Erica said from behind his back. "What do you think?"
"Personally I would just tell her, no sense in postponing it."
"I know but… Ehhh… I think she'll change too much because of that…"
"It's your secret, Erica, and you can do whatever you want with…" He paused as he saw that a small mirror was reflecting Erica while she was dressing herself.
"Why did you s…" Erica stopped mid-sentence as she too noticed the mirror. "Oh for fucks sake… Toshiro!"
"I swear I just noticed it!"
"Well, I'm finished anyway so… Come on, bucko, let's go eat something, I'm starving!"
"Now that's the Erica everyone loves, heheh…"
Upon returning to the dining hall, Toshiro noticed that everyone, except Heidi and Sanya, was already present.
"Now this is a nice surprise…"
"Yoshika's cooking is the best, nobody would miss this!" Francesca cheered.
"You're saying that as if she returned just five minutes ago, not five days," Perrine noted.
"Hey, you were with Yoshika earlier than us," Francesca pouted.
"Ah, stop pouting, Francesca…" Shirley ruffled her hair a bit. "She's here, we're here, and that's all that counts."
"Don't go deeper, or I won't recognize you." Eila snickered.
"Says the one who muffmmmfffmm… Mffiwo?!" she protested with a covered mouth.
"I promised Lynne we'd cut with innuendos during meals," Toshiro smiled and retracted his hands.
"Ah, okay, I'll leave it at that then…" she muttered while looking at the giggling Eila.
"None of you are behaving ladylike enough anyway," Perrine said with her usual princess tone.
"You're doing 1300% of the norm anyway, so we're covered." Mio shrugged.
"B-But Major!" Perrine protested vividly amongst the laughs.
"Lieutenant-Colonel, my dear Perrine," Mio said softly. "But I guess I'll always be your Major, huh?"
Perrine only nodded with a sour face.
"Come and get it!" Yoshika shouted from the kitchen.
"Grub!" Erica and Francesca cheered in sync.
"And all is normal," Minna stated happily.
During breakfast, Toshiro scanned everything that was in arms reach, and sometimes even more, using time dilution. Towards the end, Yoshika asked him quietly, "Toshiro, Kuji is telling me you're using magic all the time. What gives?"
"I'll tell you later, Sweetie. Don't worry about anything."
"Okay then…" She sighed.
"Minna, I hope there's not too much paperwork to do today?"
"Your hopes are well grounded, Toshiro." She smiled. "I guess we can take it easy today."
"Ah, good. I'll take a walk after breakfast then. If anyone needs me, just holler."
"Roger that," Minna responded. "Want somebody to accompany you, dear Generalmajor?" she asked slyly.
"I'd rather go alone, Frau Oberst," he replied in equal slyness. "Okay my dear ladies, Daddy is going for a walk. Have fun with… whatever you'll be doing."
"Bye Daddy!" Some of the girls chimed and laughed.
"Oh damn you…" Toshiro snickered and walked out of the room.
"So, big boy, what are you planning now?"
"I'll go the hangar and do some scanning, heheheh…"
"Well, there are a lot of various materials to be scanned… Be sure to take stuff apart… Or can you discern things?"
"Yeah, somehow I can discern between pure metals, alloys, compounds... I would have to have a go at medications, which would be kind of beneficial."
"Anything that's a perishable, Toshiro."
"Yeah, that's a good idea too. This will be fun, oh Yuki, fun as hell!"
"Ehhh… Seriously, the Allgod should have thought twice about giving you a power of this magnitude…"
As Toshiro entered the hangar, he started running around and scanning everything he could get his hands on. He even jumped up to the roof and scanned the girders and the roof itself, along with the glass panes of the few skylights. As soon as he finished, Shirley came in with Francesca.
"Oho, Toshiro is doing something mysterious!" Francesca noted. "Toshiro, watcha doin'?"
"Mysterious things!" He laughed. "I'm actually done here, so I'll be leaving you two."
"Hey, help me a bit with my Striker, kay?" Shirley asked.
"And what's the matter, Shirley?"
"I think there's some sputtering, but I can't pinpoint it. I need your time diluting thingie to look for it."
"Okay then, start up the engine."
"Roger!" she shouted and jumped into her Striker.
Her rabbit ears popped up immediately and the engines started up with their usual ground-shattering roar. Toshiro started diluting time slowly, adjusting the factor of dilution so the sound of the engines didn't turn into molasses.
I wonder if I can apply my powers here…
He walked up to Shirley, and placed his hands on the Strikers. He could feel the vibrations of the engines, the flow of magic, and the explosions of the internal combustion.
Incredible! Ah, I think I know what's wrong!
Toshiro jumped back, and resumed a normal time flow. He waved his right hand horizontally across his neck, and Shirley killed the engines.
"So, what's wrong?" The redhead asked.
"The central electrode in spark plug number four in the right leg is a bit dirty, you have to either clean it or replace the whole thing."
"Duuuuude…" Shirley said in disbelief. "I would have to dismantle the whole that thing to check it! How?!"
"A trade secret, my dear redhead." He winked. "Have fun repairing your wings!"
"Well, thanks…" she muttered. "Come on, Franny, you'll help me."
"Yay, I'll be useful!" the Romagnan cheered.
"Seriously, Yuki, this power is the bomb!"
"Shit, I never knew… Now you can settle down as a car diagnostician, bahahahaha!"
"Eheheh… I wish I fucking scanned the SFS while I was at it… And that big gun…"
"It would be reset anyway, buddy boy."
"Well hello, my least favorite blond. My heart is aflutter as you grace me with your presence!"
"If you'd turn yourself into powder, all the water on this planet could go bitter."
"You don't belong in this world, Kye. And you're invading the privacy of my mind nonetheless. These two things alone are ticking me off, but you of course know the remaining reasons why I simply dislike you."
"At least you don't hate me."
"That can come, if you piss me off enough. The worst things however is the fact that I can't sick you with Livy, since she's… a fuckton weaker than you, and you could simply kill her anyway. Well, Jouten could even do that… I'm a human caught up in a war with monsters, supported by some intangible god, and protected by his consort. But here you are, somebody that can flick her damn wrist and kill us all! I liked the mortal Kye, even if she was more powerful than me without any powerups or whatever, but simply talking to you telepathically makes me feel like a bug before an elephant… Will it trample me, or not? You specifically don't give a single fuck helping people directly with your powers."
"And what do you think would happen if I did kill all the Neuroi in your universe?"
"If what I saw from Ami is any indication, I would probably live my life peacefully. There would be some minor conflicts on the world, but Europe or North Liberion wouldn't have to worry about it anyway. Humanity would rebuild its cities, and everything would just go on."
"That's true, Toshiro, but remember – you are different. You have a specific job in all of this. I chose not to interfere directly, because YOU are the one that will change this world. The gods, be it of the lower level of the Elder Gods themselves, don't have to interfere. I know how you feel – here an almighty entity appears, and what does she have in mind? You want to protect your world, but you feel powerless against the immortals. I promise you that no god, except for those already present in your mythology, won't affect your world. You don't have to fear me, nor do you have to shun me. The mortal Kye Miyafuji was your friend, and so am I."
"But you're not the mortal Kye Miyafuji, and you're different from the previous godly Kye. Vastly different… I feel like I even spun a string of sympathy with that godly Kye, but you're… I don't know… I really feel uneasy around you…"
"I see… It saddens me a bit, but it's understandable. However, Toshiro, remember about the promise I made to the Allgod?"
"About protecting my universe?"
"Yes, the universe he created. Specifically, this is about protecting it from external influence. The internal affairs so to speak are exempted from it."
"And yet, you're here."
"I can be here, because I'm not changing anything by my appearance alone. You didn't grow boobs lately, did you?"
"I just thought that got old…"
"Protect from external influence, Toshiro. That also means I won't do anything to you, unless you consent to it, subconsciously or openly. You are his ambassador, after all."
"So that means I'm sort of safe right now?"
"Yes. I'm not your enemy, Toshiro. I could never hurt anybody without a good reason to do so, and before that, I would try to reason. And you're special to me as my protégé. You could say you're now under the protection of a divine triumvirate, heehee…"
"Well… That dropped a load of my heart… But that doesn't mean I like you or anything, baka!"
"Tsundere much, heeheee… By the way, I see that you're using your newfound power extensively."
"Yup. I kinda wish I would retain more of its mastery though…"
"Mastering it the natural way means that your body will grow accustomed to your power, finally becoming your second nature. Of course even Livy could grant you full mastery, but isn't it more entertaining to learn something? How did you feel when you were chiseling those abs of yours, developing each and every fiber of those muscles on your arms, and shaping the columns of your legs?"
"Buckets of sweat, sore muscles, sometimes passing out from overheating or exhaustion but… The end result is more than satisfactory."
"And exactly that is why you have to learn to master your new power the natural way. I promise you that it will be fun!"
"Well… Creating stuff is fun… Agh… I guess I have to trust you on this one… Snap, you're right yet again… Sigh…"
"I promise I'll make up to you all the discomfort you've felt around me."
"Promise promise? Withot ulterior motives?"
"Mhm. Here's a down payment so to speak – don't enjoy your dinner too much."
"Eh?"
"Laa dee daaaa…"
"Cryptic ass…"
"Oh, that's me!"
"Ehhh... Okay then, have it your way… Bye, Kye."
"Bye, Toshiro. Really, don't hold a grudge against me. I may work in meticulous ways, but it's always for the greater good."
"There's always an alternative."
"There is. But you won't know about it, heheh…"
"Ehhh…"
Toshiro saw as some of the girls ran out of the building in a single line after Mio. Yoshika spotted him, and waved towards him, so he waved back with a smile.
Well, torture time it seems, wonder what's in the office.
"Oh, Toshiro, you're here," Minna said. "Have a seat, and let's have a go at the paperwork."
"And I see Miss Galland is relaxing?" he asked as he saw Adolfine swinging on a chair near the map table.
"Bah! My girls are still astray, so I'm taking five until they assemble," she replied nonchalantly. "I'm just keeping Minna company, but if Mr. Grumpy doesn't want me…"
"Nah, stay, you damn sourpuss." Toshiro chuckled. "Besides, technically we're under your proverbial roof, so I should be the one dancing to your tune."
"True, but you're kinda a few rungs higher on the social ladder," Adolfine replied calmly. "Herrscher…" she added smugly.
"You go down that road, and I'll make you carry me around in a sedan chair," Toshiro grinned.
"Trude would probably carry you on her back, whilst playing hymns on a trumpet and sprinkling flowers on her path." Adolfine shrugged.
The three of them cracked a laugh, imagining said scene.
I'll save the thought for later, heheheh…
After doing the paperwork, Toshiro holed himself up on the roof. Sitting on the floor and leaning on the wall behind him, he looked at the enormous twin cannons.
Suddenly, he felt a soft and warm sensation on his left side.
"Hmmm… Livy I guess?" he asked before turning his head.
"Yes, Master. Are you thinking about experimenting in solitude?"
"Yeah. Have you come to aid me, Livy?"
"Yes, Master. I came just in case your experiments would backfire," Livy responded softly.
"Will they?" He asked.
"Let's see, Master," she smiled.
"Pardon me then…" He said and went to the guns.
After scanning both the guns and ammunition for them, he put his hand forward and a half-meter long brass cylinder appeared, thirty centimeters in diameter.
"A conventional RDX filled bomb with a proximity fuse," Livy noted. "Master, I'm disappointed and proud at the same time."
"Oh really now?" He clutched the bomb so hard that it bent on the sides. "Then I'll just do this."
He dissolved the bomb into dust, and quickly another container appeared.
"Now we're talking." Livy smiled. "A hydromagen bomb with two-phase detonation, enough to destroy an Alpha Hive and two kilometers of whatever is surrounding it.'
"Hydromagen? Nice word, I'm stealing it."
"Have at it, Master." she continued smiling. "But I do advise against testing it here and now, for reasons obvious."
"Bawww…" Toshiro sulked.
"Oh okay, okay… I can't stand you looking like a beat puppy in the rain. Arm it and throw it as high as you can, Master."
Toshiro pumped his fist, and he quickly pulled out the safety pin from the side of the bomb. Gathering all his strength, and using the Celestial Aura, he threw it as hard as he could.
"Wheeew, I still have it in me…" he pondered. "What now?"
"Now," Toshiro's vision suddenly darkened, and he felt that he wore a pair of goggles. "Boom!"
The familiar spherical explosion appeared amongst a blinding amount of light. The shockwave came fast and furled his uniform around, with the loud bang ringing in his ears for the coming seconds.
"Hoho, nice fireworks," a familiar voice said. "It's good I gracefully let you keep this knowledge."
"Ami? What are you doing here?" Toshiro asked surprised.
"It's better to watch something like this from the front row, not from my realm." She shrugged. "Besides, I'm your former mistress, have some respect, Bub."
"You kinda still are, considering the fact that the Allgod is still pretty much unavailable."
"Why thank you." She giggled. "You really do like me, do you?"
"You opened your heart to me, and you chose me, so why shouldn't I repay you with some kindness?"
"Flatterer…" She blushed.
"Master, just an FYI – this explosion hasn't been observed by any mortal besides you, so you don't have to churn out a plan how to cover this up."
"Good that you brought that up before I started, eh?"
"Heehee, sorry, Master."
Toshiro quietly skulked towards Amaterasu, but he was quickly grabbed by the ear.
"And what did you want to do, buster? Cop a feel of me, huh?" she interrogated.
"Uh… Yeah?"
"Nope, you won't scan me, sonny," she said and disappeared, leaving him with a sore ear.
"Well, that was predictable…" Toshiro muttered.
"I have an idea, Master. I'll be calling names of items, and you make them appear, okay?"
"Is that some form of training?"
"Fun training," Livy corrected. "Ready, Master?"
"Ready when you are."
"Morning star," she said.
Toshiro complied and in a second, a big two-handed morning star appeared in his hands.
"Very good. Now a sword, and no, I don't mean calling me to your hands, Master," she smiled.
"Aw... Well then…" he said and a katana appeared in his right hand.
"Good, Master."
"Nice that you made an audible pause between the words, or I would feel like a dog." He snickered.
"If anyone should be a dog here, I should be your puppy, heehee…" She giggled. "Okay then, something more complicated – monkey wrench."
"Done," Toshiro said after the item appeared in his hands.
"MG42," Livy said without missing a beat.
He quickly dropped the tool and hastily made the machine gun appear in his hands, complete with ammo belt.
"Are you sure that's a proper weapon, Master?" Livy asked.
"Uh…" he pondered, pulled the charging handle, aimed above him, and finally pulled the trigger.
Only a dry crack was heard, making him wonder what went wrong.
"You missed the whole firing pin assembly, Master. You have to concentrate more, this was a rush job."
"Shit…" he muttered and dissolved the gun.
"Remember how you trained with Ami, Master? You didn't mastered the Shin Reppuzan just like that, or any other technique for that matter. Failure at first attempt is just natural, unless you have predispositions to do something. You weren't exactly accustomed to your power up until lately, because if that was the case, you would probably be very well versed with it," Livy explained calmly. "Now Master, your trusty MG somethingnumbers."
"Heh, I like how you said that." He chuckled.
This time Toshiro concentrated himself more, and spawned a copy of his gun, complete with a drum of Minengeschoß rounds, just to make it harder.
Livy clapped her hands and said, "Bravo, Master. Let's end this for today, or you'll be too drained if anything happens."
"Yeah, I kinda feel wobbly… Never happened when I used it in the sim…"
"At full mastery, it's like second nature, Master," Livy said. "Right now you have to pay attention to your body, as the Celestial Order behaves a bit differently regarding magic consumption."
"As in?"
"At first, it saps your magic energy like normal, and if you overdo it, it will start tapping into your life energy, Master. Let me underline this – if you try too hard, you will die."
"Damn, I didn't know this would be so dangerous…" He muttered angrily.
"Don't worry though, there's a mental safety in place, Master. You have to disable it for the Celestial Order to use up your remaining life force. You will know when your life force is at a dangerous level, but it isn't an arbitrary limit like the five minute limit of using the Awakened State."
"You had me a bit scared there, Livy. So basically I just have to watch out when I'm starting to get woozy during combat, correct?"
"Correct, Master. For the time being, I would advise you to abstain from using your new power in combat."
"Whatever you say, Sweetie. I'll go and recharge my batteries then."
"Bye, Master, have fun as usual."
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